Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun
Xidi Village approximately 54 kilometers from Tunxi where Huangshan Municipal Government is seated, Xidi is a village that extends 700 meters from east to west and 200 meters from south to north. It has more than 1,000 people in 300 households. Historical records show that one of the sons of Emperor Li Ye (Zhaozhong) in the Tang Dynasty fled from the war turmoil in the country's capital and settled down in this out-of-the-way place. To avoid troubles, he changed his family name from Li to Hu. Following generations of hard but silent work, his family flourished. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911), scholars from the Hu family were engaged in business and made plenty of money. While trying to expand business in other parts of China, they commissioned some of the best architects in the country to design houses, schools, ancestral temples, roads and bridges that matched their riches. Large-scale construction went on for generations, and what emerged was the best Ming- and Qing-style residential houses to be found in the country along with a labyrinth of marble-paved country road and street lanes. Many have been destroyed either by war or by the elements, but several hundred of them have survived. Located in the northeast of Yixian County, 65 kilometers from Tunxi, Hongcun originally was constructed for the settlement of those whose family name was Wang, in North Song Dynasty (960-1127). In Hongcun, hundreds of ancient houses stand row by row, the best-known being Chengzhi House built by a salt merchant in the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911). Chengzhi House, covering a floor space of 2,000 square meters, is acclaimed as the best example of woodcarvings for house decoration in Anhui Province. Beautiful in design and elegant in style, the woodcarvings decorate the crossbeams, pendentives, doors and window pillars. Of particular interest are a woodcarving of the same figure with different faces and one of the same face with different expressions.
Click following thumbnails to enter the virtual tour pages
Stone Bridge, Hongcun
By the Lake
Chengzhi Hall
Stone Torii, Xidi
Horse-Head Wall
Resident's House
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